The World Which Is

Chapter 32

this link is the only way I could come up with to let you see the ability trees for Dennis's class correctly: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1AUsS4gl810-1bueeXnB-tWj7PiEDGHeW.

this links to a PDF containing the description of the class abilities or can be found here https://drive.google.com/open?id=1AVKjr_gje7DZQL0ukDLDXU9H0Am8CkaV

"List my abilities, divided by starting prerequisite. Show the result side by side."

I'm surprised that four windows appear. Looking the list over, I'd worked out there were three trees. I think I'd put the Field Research tree inside Planning Ahead.

The other surprise is just how much falls within Momentum and how few under Taking it on the Nose. When looking for abilities I could make use of as a guard, it felt like the bulk of explorer abilities fell under that one, that most of what I'd put on when planning my build fell under that, instead of already being exclusively under Momentum.

I already have that, and since there isn't anything after Bob and Weave, and for the dodge bonus it gives me, I still like it for my second ability. It won't be as useful if I focus on archery, but I figure there will be plenty of time when I'll have to fight close quarters. It still comes after I've hit level five in Momentum, so my immediate decisions have to be about Field Research and Planning Ahead. Looking over the rest of the Taking it on the Nose tree hasn't changed my opinion about how it's more for showmanship than actual fighting.

The Field Research tree feels geared toward the professional monster hunter, which I have no interest in. It's all boosts bases on monsters they kill. In the same vein, Planning Ahead and the rest of its tree seem to push for the archaeologist, at least the way Grandpa Louis talked about them, and the Indiana Jones movies I watched. I can see the appeal, but my goal is still to return home after this, and become a guard.

Which means Momentum is still the tree I need to focus on, but I have to change how I look at it. Instead of Hit and Run, I need to open the At it all Day branch. That one outright means I'll be able to travel further in a day. The fifty percent reduction to stamina cost mean I can run instead of walk, and since it needs to be level five before the other abilities are accessible, I'll be at a seventy percent reduction, and it's only six more levels to bring it down to basically zero, letting me run as hard as I want all day long. That's definitely going to be good for getting there and back.

Then Sprinting Step increases how fast I can move, and Aether Striding opens up teleportation. Blink seems more like a combat teleport, and considering I have no mana to speak off, and all the ways my speed is increased, I don't know if it's going to be worth the investment needed to get my Aether attribute up to where it's going to be able to handle the kind of costs teleportation has to require.

Treasure Steps and Windfall feel like the system is trying to get the archeologists to spend points in this tree, with making it easier to quickly find caches within ruins, and increasing how much they get out of it. If my goal was researching ruins, I don't know that I'd want to spend ten points just to be able to start this.

Launching Stride and Rebounding Leaps are definitely set as complement to Momentum, and they are tempting. Momentum might not be all that useful for traveling, and making sure I return home quickly, but there is something undeniably fun about running up a wall. With those, I'd be able to get a jumping start that reaches higher and keep jumping any gaps too large to run across.

Then the Hit and Run tree puts offensive capabilities in.

I want to take that one. I spent so much of my life training to fight that not taking it hurts. The idea I could take it with my next level makes that even harder to resist.